How to nix constipation

For efficient digestion and elimination, it’s important that you are eating enough nutrient-dense food to support both your metabolism and bowel transit to avoid constipation. So double check that you are up-regulating your metabolism by eating nutrient dense protein, carbs and fat together. Too little carbohydrates slows the metabolism, which slows bowel transit time causing constipation. If you’re already working on your diet, and you are still having trouble, you may want to try out a few of these suggestions to help get things moving.

Know your Calcium and Potassium levels

Did you know that in hair analysis your ratio of calcium and potassium determine how well your thyroid hormones are doing their job and thyroid hormones HUGE impact on constipation? Having high calcium levels in your body (often from taking too much vitamin D in supplement form) relative to potassium levels means that things in your body are literally slowing down, and that means constipation becomes normal. If your thyroid hormones haven’t been doing their job well for some time, you may know about it by experiencing even more unfavorable symptoms like: cold sensitivity, low energy, depression, weight gain and the list goes on. Read more on how to find out where your body’s at here.

1-2 raw carrots a day can help detoxify excess estrogen in your colon and ease constipation. Excess estrogen (caused by protein malnutrition in the liver that does not allow proper detoxification of estrogen, or by a progesterone deficiency) mimics the effects of aging (accelerating aging), increases cancer risk, and decreases the body’s ability to use oxygen. According to Dr. Ray Peat, PhD, “There are interesting associations between vegetable “fiber” and estrogens. Because of my own experience in finding that eating a raw carrot daily prevented my migraines, I began to suspect that the carrot fiber was having both a bowel-protective and an antiestrogen effect. Several women who suffered from premenstrual symptoms, including migraine, had their serum estrogen measured before and after the “carrot diet,” and they found that the carrot lowered their estrogen within a few days, as it relieved their symptoms.”

Eliminate foods that work against you (i.e. food allergies and sensitivities)

Foods that work against you slow down bowel function and deduct from your nutritional bank account every time you eat them. They do this in three major ways. First, when you eat foods that you are allergic or sensitive to, they activate your stress response which reduces your digestive juices and lessens both your absorption and digestion of nutrients. Secondly, when you eat foods that cause bloating or that are difficult to digest, they down-regulate your appetite which causes you to eat less and leave you unable to make nutritional deposits, and then it slows transit time. Finally, food allergies and sensitivities distract your body from proper function and healing. When your body is preoccupied with a stressful food, it can’t focus on proper digestion and building health.

If you’re having trouble identifying your food sensitivities on your own, then you should know all about this test.

Don’t sit, SQUAT.

Did you know that the proper potty position is to squat, not sit? Learn more about this here.

Magnesium is one of the nutrients that is very much lacking in the highly processed standard American diet, making deficiency common. Getting your magnesium from food is always the best choice (properly prepared grains, fruits, chocolate, etc), but if you need more than you can obtain from food, both transdermal (through the skin) and supplemental magnesium are other options. Transdermal choices are epsom salt baths, magnesium lotion, magnesium spray, and my favorite supplemental options are magnesium ascorbate, glycinate, orotate or malate from a reputable source (you can find a list of my favorite supplements here). Magnesium works in two major ways to ease constipation: it relaxes the muscles of the intestines, and draws water into the colon to help initiate peristalsis (propel matter through your digestive tract).

Trifala is one of the most popular Ayurvedic herbal formulas, and literally means “three fruits,” specifically Amala (Emblica officinalis), Bibhitaki (Terminalia belerica) and Haritaki (Terminalia chebula). It works to gently cleanse the digestive tract and support peristalsis, which aids in keeping your bowel movements regular. Trifala powder or capsules are typically taken on an empty stomach in the evening hours or prior to bed.

Cascara sagrada (for chronic constipation)

Cascara sagrada contains emodin, a laxative substance that has anti-cancer and anti-viral properties. Emodin also acts to absorb endotoxin from the intestines for excretion which can prevent “letting larger amounts of bacterial toxins enter the bloodstream, interfering with energy metabolism, creating inflammatory vicious circles of increasing leakiness and inflammation,” according to Dr. Ray Peat, PhD. By using a very small amount of properly aged Cascara sagrada bark, you can help regulate bowel movements for a short time until your metabolism recovers and you can “go” on your own.

Beets are incredibly therapeutic to the liver, a beauty food, and a digestive aid (I love taking a “shot” of this stuff when I don’t have fresh beets on hand). They have the ability to help thin your bile, which allows the body to detox more efficiently, and can help with easier elimination. A common problem is sluggish/stagnant bile flow. After toxins are neutralized in the liver, they are dumped into the bile (bile duct is a river for toxins to move out of the body) and when the bile gets too thick, toxic matter can’t flow out of the body quick enough (leading to fatigue, low energy, constipation, PMS, toxicity and disease)! Regular beet consumption (and a wealthy diet) can help strengthen this process naturally!

Bowel moving foods

Fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut, can help to move your bowels and eliminate constipation due to the healthy bacteria they contain. Additionally, fruits like kiwi and prunes make especially therapeutic constipation busting foods.

Ready to find out your mineral levels and how they could be contributing to your constipation?

Enter your email below to learn all about the best way to understand your own mineral levels with hair analysis.

How about you? What helps you get things moving to avoid constipation? Please share in the comments!

You May Also Enjoy These Posts...

Free Cheatsheet: How To STOP The Bloating!

Take action now and learn what eat and what not to eat to banish your bloating for good!

Subscribe below to get access to the FREE Bloat-Be-Gone Guide:

Affiliate Link Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Please note: using an affiliate link does not change the price of the product, instead the seller pays Butter Nutrition a small commission. My thoughts on these products are my own.

Paid Endorsement Disclosure: In order for me to support my blogging activities, I may receive monetary compensation or other types of remuneration for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial and/or link to any products or services from this blog.

Comments

Thanks for the article, Catherine. I’m especially intrigued by your fifth point — Cascara sagrada. This is the first I’ve heard of it. Do you have recommendations on ingestion and timing of use? Tea vs. capsule? Thanks very much!

I’m very happy to have found your blog, especially since I am having symptoms of adrenal fatigue, thyroid issues…and I have elimination problems…
Oh man…
In any case, I don’t want to bother you too much – just wanted to know if there’s any other vegetable that can be replaced for carrots in no.1? I am somewhat “intolerant” to carrots…What about parsnips?

Triphala is a safer alternative than Cascara. The Triphala capsules are considered safe for daily use, because the ingredients consist of only three sour fruits, and thus Triphala is essentially a food.

Forget squatty potty. Lift both lids, hang onto something either side of you and squat on the porcelain. Also, eat lots of raw carrots (Catherine’s brilliant advice), loads of raw sauerkraut and try Colosan powder. NOT the capsules. Chase it w/ACV as opposed to lemon or lime and see what happens.

For immediate relief, look up baking soda for constipation. I drink water only with baking soda in it for reflux and it keeps me regular. Also what keeps me regular is thyroid, inclined bed sleeping, magnesium.
Even the squatty potty won’t help if your bowel contents are dry. Try drinking a tall glass of cold water with a teaspoon of baking soda/bicarbonate of soda dissolved in it. Twice a day until you get regular relief
And also get the report on improving your metabolism. See also Matt Stone on water and the color your urine should be. Too much water is drying/dehydrating to the body..

some bowel problems come from paralysis due to spinal injury, compression or something disturbing the nerves coming from the spinal cord. Most doctors won’t acknowledge this. Cascara sagrada is extremely damaging so short term use is recommended and yes your bowels will stop working on their own and become dependent on it which is bad. physical activity, exercise and green foods are absolutely essential to better bowels so get off your duffs and get on to better health. otherwise, get a doc who will explore the possibility of back surgery. that is what helped me.

I have an Autistic daughter who deals with constipation routinely. We switched to a gluten free, dairy free and sugar free diet (except for an occasional treat). Every morning I give her a berry shake with camu camu powder, coconut kefir, and a fiber supplement recommended in the Body Ecology book. I also incorporate fermented vegetables like salsa that I put on her pastured eggs and a good quality probiotic. I do use the Magnesium spray and Ancient Minerals Magnesium flakes in a bath. I have also rubbed a layer of Castor oil on her abdomen, covered it with plastic wrap and applied a hot water bottle to her abdomen for 20 or 30 min. to help it absorb transdermally. All of these things have been highly effective, The most helpful though is the coconut kefir and fermented food along with eliminating the offending foods like gluten, dairy, and processed foods. I have learned that there is a gut- brain connection and my daughter is a testimonial to this. By keeping her regular and focusing on fresh whole foods and supplementing with vitamins and minerals her behavior has improved dramatically, she is calmer, cooperative and her cognitive function much improved! The brain fog has been lifted and I couldn’t be happier to see her thriving!

These work for me too. Sometimes a greasy burger and fries sends the stagnant bile and gallstones packing. But magnesium and a cup of coffee do as well. Coconut capsules are my go to for constipation. Smooth move tea is good too.

I started Weight Watchers and increased my protein intake. After a couple of weeks, I had constant constipation. After doing some research, I started taking flaxseed geltabs daily. It has helped and now I’m back to normal.

Ground flaxseeds are my life saver. I mix them in smoothies, yoghurt, porridge, anything I can mix them in. But be careful when you first take them as too much can clog you up. Start with half teaspoon a day and slowly work your way up to 2 tablespoons a day. It had worked wonders to keep me regular.

I would advise against ingesting whole flaxseeds as they with go straight through without doing anything. Whole flaxseeds need to me ground up first. Xx

Detoxing sometimes does not work by clearing toxins already absorbed by the body, it only works as a laxative i.e. clearing them before they are absorbed. And it is a bad idea to use laxatives frequently. The best detox I have found is the Dr. Max Powers 15 Day Cleanse. I dont do it for 15 days, I only take it for 5 days and that is enough.

I would recommend using the Dr Max Powers 15 Day Cleanse for constipation and perhaps occasionally when you have eaten and drunk too many bad things.

Magnesium is the only thing that’s worked for me consistently, not pills or supplement caps (they did nothing) I use powdered Natural Calm (it comes in flavors). I tried all the others mentioned here, and no go (as it were). with natural calm you can control pretty precisely how everything comes out (or goes) as it were!!

P.S. Women should be careful about ingesting lots of flax seeds, as it can be estrogenic.

Great post thank you. There could be a lot of things causing the consipation. I found that hydration, relaxation (yoga) and foods like Chia seeds and ginger work best for most people. But then again sometimes it can be a simple as adding some fiber or (healthy) fats to your diet to get the bowel movement started.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comment

Name *

Email *

Website

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Meet Catherine

As a nutritional therapist, my passion is education. My goal is to help guide you to improve your nutrition through strategic eating (not dieting) and without expensive supplements! Because when you know better, you can feel better! Read more...

Get The EBook!

Hair Analysis – Get Started

Quiz: Are you in nutritional debt?

What Others Are Reading:

Connect

Don't Diet, Get Nutritionally Wealthy! Discover how to use food to fuel and transform your life with whole food therapy. Your abundant life is waiting for you! Connect with me at Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, or get email updates to stay in the loop!